How to get the most out of your travels

What do we actually mean when we say this? Do we mean something practical, such as value for money, or buying as many tourist mementos as we can cram into our suitcases? Or, perhaps, we are referring to gaining an experience. When traveling, we can always cut corners when we feel rushed, but to gain an experience and not just a vacation, means we need a lot more than a few days lounging at the beach, dreading the day you go back to work. Traveling should be exciting, with each new venture more enthralling than the last.

Radically Different

To get the most out of your vacation, you should first consider what your day to day life is like. This will give you a sense of what you don’t want from your travels. After all, who wants to travel halfway across the globe to stay sat in a hotel room on their laptop?

You want to see somewhere new and exciting. You want to try new food and see fascinating new things. In short, you want to be able to look back and think, “Wow. I really did that!”

One idea is to thrill seek. Géraldine Fasnacht talks about sheer epinephrine rush of skydiving in the Alps and the addictive quality of extreme sports. Fasnacht is, of course, a professional skydiver, but there are many ways to try out a once in a lifetime sport, in a safe way, in any climate you like. If the wintery snow sounds divine to you, why not try skiing or snowboarding? If you prefer the heat and the beach, give surfing or diving in crystal blue waters a go.

Photos or Real Memories

Posting beautiful vacation pictures on Instagram might seem like a necessity, especially for young people, but trying to document every second of your travels may deeply inhibit you from actually experiencing it.

It is also good to remember that the reality can be very different from the photos. Just because someone has a great photo album doesn’t mean they had the time of their lives, so it is worth trying to shift our focus onto the greater task of living to the maximum rather than trying to document every colorful landscape you encounter.

Plunge yourself into a new situation where you won’t have time to take constant pictures. Talk to the locals, try the cuisine, and try a new language. There are so many possibilities!

A Taylor Made Experience

Perhaps the best way to get the most out of a holiday is to make your travel as individual as you are. Seek inspiration from a travel blog such as Mr Hudson Explores to get a sense of what experiences are important to you. When looking at travel guides and reading other people’s experiences, there will always be something that makes your heart skip a beat.

Life is too short not to take a risk and try something new, and travel is by far the best way to do it.